Witnessed the worst case of "death wobble" I have ever seen...

[CarbonSteel]

KO2's. Love them. They are wearing very nicely at 35k miles and with a 5 tire rotation. They've performed well and even surprised me a little bit in the mud! They ride great and handle well, too.

I have the Falken Wildpeak MTs in 285/70/17, but have been looking at the Toyo Open Country AT III in 315/70/17.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I'm sure they are the longer ones. They were certainly longer than the original Rubi arms. I have not measured the castor yet on mine. I will see if that can be done tomorrow while at the dealership for the steering box upgrade.

The steering box upgrade should help significantly--cast iron body versus aluminum. I pulled the Synergy trackbar brace off and am having the sector brace ears cut off and powder coating the whole thing and will reinstall it after I have the steering box upgrade done when I return from YNP (and have the rear window defogger wire fixed too).

 

[bdcardinal]

What is the "correct" thing to do when experiencing death wobble? Are you supposed to just let off the throttle and coast? I would think braking would make it worse.

 

[el Nuke]

What is the "correct" thing to do when experiencing death wobble? Are you supposed to just let off the throttle and coast? I would think braking would make it worse.

According to the gentleman in the video, the vehicle should be brought to a complete stop as quickly and safely as possible. That’s evidently the only thing that will stop the wobble.

Applying the brakes should not make it worse, though it could make controlling where the vehicle goes more difficult.

Coasting to a stop does not appear to be an option, as the wobble is too dangerous to allow to continue for so long. It’s best to just get it stopped the best you can I guess.

 

[timinnd]

Hey guys....death wobble has been a nightmare to fix in my dodge ram. Have had it into 3 places so far. First two gave up.

3rd place not sure where to start. So I hooked up a go pro, and recorded it from underneath.

Can anyone tell by looking at this....what is triggering the wobble?

It happens at about 35 seconds.

https://youtu.be/rOs0PTcSk0o

Thanks in advance.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Hey guys....death wobble has been a nightmare to fix in my dodge ram. Have had it into 3 places so far. First two gave up.

3rd place not sure where to start. So I hooked up a go pro, and recorded it from underneath.

Can anyone tell by looking at this....what is triggering the wobble?

It happens at about 35 seconds.

https://youtu.be/rOs0PTcSk0o

Thanks in advance.

The first thing that I would check is your trackbar followed by your drag link. The vast majority of DW is caused by a worn trackbar. The OEM bushings are not durable at all and there have been cases where they are installed in a bind which further causes them to prematurely wear. Other things to check are the ball joints. I would have someone turn the wheel while you inspect for excessive play in the steering components and go from there.

Hope this helps!

 

[timinnd]

The first thing that I would check is your trackbar followed by your drag link. The vast majority of DW is caused by a worn trackbar. The OEM bushings are not durable at all and there have been cases where they are installed in a bind which further causes them to prematurely wear. Other things to check are the ball joints. I would have someone turn the wheel while you inspect for excessive play in the steering components and go from there.

Hope this helps!

One place mentioned ball joints...said they need replacing...and he thinks that is it. Other place, says ball joints "feel okay" because there is very little movement.

So here has what's been mentioned..
-Upper Ball Joints: One says replace, one says they don't appear to need it.
-Trackbar.
-Place its at now, says the shocks could be causing it -- this is before I got the video. I'll give them the video tomorrow.

So if they don't see any evidence that is a giveaway...I'm going to replace all 3.

In the video--- it is crazy how bad (untrue) the wheel on the right of the screen wobbles. It looks like something should snap based on what it looked like in video. And the entire engine shakes...watch the oil filter. lol. Not funny, but crazy how what is happening from an "unknown cause".

 

[ollie]

Here is a useful video on how Guy Martin saves one:

 

[2EHA]

Death wobbles can be masked with a fresh steering stabilizer but it’ll be dead in no time. A steering damper is never needed in any solid front axle vehicle, it’s there so you don’t break your hand.

Knuckle joints/birfields and associated hub hardware, track bar, panhard rod bushings, throughly cooked shocks, radius arms etc can all add up to a nasty wobble. Rarely is it just one cause

 

[HangFire]

I thought this was a misplaced thread about Harley-Davidsons.
(-:

Same here. Though it can happen to any mis-aligned bike.

 

[2009ram2500]

Best Info on Dodge Death Wobble you'll find

According to Don Thuren here are the caster & toe settings to eliminate DW in the heavier Dodge Ram QC 4x4 diesel trucks:
Caster: 3.7 to 4.5 degrees POSITIVE. Heavier trucks 3.8 to 4.0
Toe: 0.00-0.05 Degrees (Not inches)

You can read more here about what causes DW and how to get rid of it:
Death Wobble In depth: https://www.thurenfabrication.com/tech/death-wobble-in-depth.html

Alignment & Handling ( I highly suggest reading this): https://www.thurenfabrication.com/tech/alignment-and-handling.html

 

[2009ram2500]

Great thread on what fixed your death wobble

Post what fixed your death wobble

Has anyone actually cured D/W once and for all? Lets start a thread with only what fixed YOURS! No opinions.....hard facts! There is too many threads with every ones opinion which doesn't really matter because it seems like every truck reacts differently to each fix.

www.cumminsforum.com

If all of your hardware is in good shape, it's your caster.